Choosing A Destiny
by CatWriter
Summary: A prophecy come that promises a savior that will have the power to defeat the Dark Lord. But does having the power mean you have to use? Should the world be save or should the world be made to save it self. If you were Harry Potter what would you choos


Choosing of a Destiny

Summary: Harry Potter was a boy with a destiny, a destiny that said he had the power to destroy the dark lord. Question: Does having the power mean you have to use it? What of free will? What if he was not the first one with such a destiny to save wizarding world, what if these heroes were actually a curse? A curse that said that wizarding world would suffer dark lord after dark lord until they united and stood to fight for themselves, and then a final peace and true prosperity would come.

Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling if I was, would I'd be preparing for the release of Book 7, instead of writing this for you. All praise J.K. mother of the Potterverse Franchise.

Warning: Graphic violence, mentions of rape and torture; so far just in Snape's past.

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Chapter 1: Prophecies and Destinies

James and Lily Potter were a young couple three years out of Hogwarts, who were fighting to bring peace and understanding to the wizarding world. A dark lord named Voldemort appeared some years back spouting racial hatred, and intolerance. Slowly the wizarding world was falling into chaos as it tried to find its savior.

Lily Potter nee Evans was a muggle born witch; she learned wizarding history and marveled at how sheep like magical people were. They relied on their magic for everything, and didn't do anything that would require actual physical labor or real thought. Amazingly when a lot of muggle born witches and wizards came to the magical world to learn magic one of two things generally happened after completing their magical education. One, they would find a spot in the wizarding world and slowly become as 'lazy' as the purebloods. They would slowly lose the ability to do anything for themselves, even reason. Or two, they would look at the wizarding world in disgust, and leave. Though using magic at home, and for some things, they never really returned to the magical world.

Lily Potter had been tempted to leave the wizarding world, but stayed for her husband. James Potter, amazingly, while a joker, was a very astute man; his family while pureblood lived on the edge of pureblood and wizarding society. They had no problems like most of the wizarding world; they didn't rely on magic as heavily as most people did.

The Potter men actually seemed to have a magical sense for investiture. Godric Gryffindor was an ancestor of the Potter family, he actually helped set up Lloyds of London, in muggle world, basing it after Gringotts, with the goblins permission, which he paid for, of course. Over the centuries, whenever a big development occurred in the muggle world it seemed a Gryffindor/Potter was the money behind the idea. Ever since Lloyds of London, it seemed that each Gryffindor and later Potter would meet someone who would be a major economic force in the world and would give them start up capital for their company. When Ely Whitney needed money to patent his cotton gin, Kevin Potter was there and was made a silent partner. Jeremy Potter gave $5,000 to Henry Ford, and became a silent partner, when Ford first started mass-producing cars. Most recently James Potter had spent his summers during his Hogwarts years in the states, and one summer he met two young men who wanted to start up a business, they wanted to produce the first prototypes of their idea, but alas they ran out of money, it just so happened that James was staying in the area on vacation and heard them lamenting not having the funds in a restaurant one day. Like every other Gryffindor/Potter male James was in the right place at the right time. He introduced himself to the two men and who said their names were Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. James though a child said he would be glad to give them the money for the start up, and wrote a check on the spot for fifty thousand dollars. Bill wrote a silent partnership agreement with him that gave James Potter twenty percent ownership of their company called Microsoft. Profits from the company were sent to James' bank over the years and he didn't see either man again for a few summers.

James, was back in the states one summer and ran into Steve Jobs, Jobs told him he wasn't happy at the company he helped start and that he had ideas for another direction but that Bill wouldn't let him implement them. James again came to the rescue and gave Steve the extra money he needed to start up his own company, Steve was grateful and made James a twenty percent silent partner in his company, Apple Computers. Again, James like all Potter men, knew the wise thing to do was just to give the money stand back and let the creators do their thing. And so the Potter in addition to owning twenty percent of Lloyds of London, Ford Automotive Company, and many, many other companies, he also owned twenty percent of Microsoft and Apple computers. People say that Bill Gates is the richest man in the world, so not true, Bill is richest MUGGLE in the world. The richest man is the head of the Gryffindor/Potter family.

This being said it was easy to see why the Potters stayed in touch with the muggle world and didn't rely as heavily on magic as the rest of the wizarding world. James loved technology, Lily loved it too, and magic.

When Voldemort became an issue targeting muggleborns and muggles, Lily and James stepped up. They decided to become aurors to help protect the wizarding world, they wanted to protect it for the child they would have someday. They had fought and defied the dark lord three times, them and their friends the Longbottoms, Alice and Frank. All four were aurors and all four working to make the wizarding world a better place for the children they would one day have.

In the fullness of time both Lily and Alice discovered they were pregnant, and both couldn't have been happier, well peace would have made them happier but beggars can't be choosers. Summer came and at the end of July both the Potters and the Longbottoms found themselves at St. Mungos, their sons born only minutes apart.

The Potters and the Longbottoms now sat in the office of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, each young mother with a child sleeping peaceably in her arms.

"Thank you all for coming, lemon drop?"

Everyone rolled their eyes and shook their heads.

"Fine then, the reason I've asked you here is because a prophecy has come to light about the downfall of the dark lord."

Stunned silence.

"According to the prophecy a child a will be born at the end of July to parents who have thrice defied the dark lord. I think you see where this is going."

"You think this savior could be one of our children?" Asked Frank Longbottom.

"Yes, both you and the Potters have defied the dark lord request to join him three times and arrested several of his most powerful death eaters. I believe that since both your children were both July 31st. I had hoped that waiting to see which child was born that day would tell me which of the children was the child of prophecy, but since they were both born that day, I don't know which one it is." Said Dumbledore.

"And does this prophecy guarantee victory with the child surviving?" Asked James.

"Well, no, the prophecy says that the child with the power to defeat the dark lord will be born and when, but does not guarantee victory, or the life of the child. Still, with training and time your child or the Longbottoms could be ready to face this destiny, imagine peace will come and the war will end is that not wonderful."

"No, it's not wonderful. I am not sacrificing my child for this world. You are out your ever loving, lemon drop obsessing mind if you think I will." Growled Lily.

"James, please reason with her, don't you both want to war to end?" Said Dumbledore.

"Of course, we want the war to end, but that does not mean we are willing to sacrifice our child to the war effort. We are fighting this war to make a better world for Harry, and we are not going to sacrifice him for it, it would sort of defeat the purpose don't you think?" James said glaring at the old man.

"I think I speak for both of us," said Frank, "when I say we agree with the Potters, we aren't sacrificing Neville either. Neville is the reason we are fighting this war, we are fighting to make the world a better place for them, we are willing to give our lives to make it better for them, but we are not willing to give THEM to make it a better place."

Alice nodded in agreement.

"Look, all of you, I think what you don't understand is that this is destiny, you don't have a choice. I was there when the prophecy was made and I know a spy for Voldemort was there as well, the spy didn't hear the whole prophecy but I know he heard enough for Voldemort to figure it's going to be a child of either of your families and he will come after you." Implored Dumbledore.

"My manor is a pureblood manor, Dumbledore," said Frank. "As you know nothing can get through the wards of a pureblood manor."

"Yes, you have pureblood wards on your manor, but that's no guarantee, anyone you've previously allowed to enter your wards can enter them again, and if they are working for dark lord they could come in and kill your child."

"We will have Neville to stay with mother, her manor wards have no one set to them but us, the elves and her. She had them wiped cleaned of anyone else when the dark lord started his rise. Personally I told her she was paranoid, but now I'm glad of her paranoia." Said Frank.

"Crap," cursed James. "All of our other properties have lower quality wards than the mansion, and the mansion has too many people allowed in and out because we use it to host charity affairs. Bloody hell, what to do…." Mumbled James.

"James, I have it. We can do the Fidelius Charm on one of the smaller properties. We simply have to find a secret keeper, and stay there while the mansion's wards are wiped of everyone but us and the rest of the Marauders by the curse-breakers of Gringotts." Said Lily.

"I always knew I married the brightest witch of the age." Said James as swooped in and kissed his wife over their sleeping son.

"Well, then that's it. We're going to have Gringotts cleanse the wards of Potter Mansion, then move back there and stay. I will train my son Dumbledore, but only to protect himself, nothing more, when he is older should he choose to help in the fight for the wizarding world than he may, but it will not be his problem simply because of some bloody prophecy. He will not be the hero of the light, the curse will not touch my family." Growled Lily.

"Curse, what curse?" Asked Dumbledore. Frank and Alice looked on in curiosity.

"You don't know? My god, I thought you would know, as you were the last one effected by it, Dumbledore." Said Lily.

"Hun, I don't understand, you never told me about a curse, what curse." Said James.

"I'm sorry, Love," said Lily, "I've been researching the trend of muggleborns in the wizarding world either becoming as apathetic as the purebloods or abandoning the wizarding world, and I've found that it's because the wizarding world is cursed."

"But I'm not apathetic and I'm a pureblood." Said James.

"No, you're not and neither are the Longbottoms or Sirius or Remus, and the reason for that is because you all have ties to the muggle world, or more specifically, Love, because YOU have ties to the muggle world, and you've included them in those ties. You've led the Longbottoms and Sirius and Remus to become as involved in the muggle world as you and your family has always been. And so you are all not as dependent on magic as purebloods or muggleborns or half bloods that remain solely within the wizarding world. The curse from what I've been able to discover makes those who remain exclusively in the magical world apathetic they rely on magic for everything, and the curse has been set that so the wizarding world can never know lasting peace like the muggle world can. While there is always fighting somewhere in the muggle world it's simple flair ups, and nothing as organized as world war two happens very often, however if you look at wizarding history, Dark Lords seeking world domination happen every half century, sometimes even more frequently. And, WWII was only escalated to that level because of the Dark Lord Grindelwald, brought magic to Hitler's notice and worked with him." Said Lily.

"I find this hard to believe, if there is such a curse who cast it?" Said Dumbledore.

"That was the part that took some research, nearly a year, but I found who the caster was; it was Morgana Le Fey. After the final battle with Arthur and Merlin her son Mordred was dead and she mourned his loss, the muggles at the time, were in mourning as well for the loss of their king. Morgana saw the muggles mourning their king as good thing, it showed that they had lost something of value in the war as well. The muggles didn't blame Morgana too much for the war, they had to rebuild and simply let her be really. The wizarding world was a different story, for the most part witches and wizards stayed out of the war, never taking aside. They waited and watched to see who would win, when Arthur won, and Mordred died. They rejoiced. They celebrated the death of her son, and proclaimed Arthur a hero of the wizarding world. Morgana was outraged, her son was dead and they celebrated, they risked nothing, stayed home safe, while she fought, while Mordred fought, while Merlin and Arthur fought, even the muggles fought. Morgana was a powerful witch and being half fey meant she knew spells and had powers we don't know even today. She cast the spell, that the wizarding world would never know lasting peace. She set it so that those blessed with the most power would be hero or villain. The wizarding world would suffer until the final battle and then know peace for but a few short years and then the next hero and villain would come and a new war would start over and over again forever. Furthermore, during the time of peace the wizards would not grow, would not evolve they would remain the same as they were, stagnant. She cursed them to be apathetic, there would be few new spells, few breakthroughs, they would scoff at change, and wallow in their apathy, and any who chose the wizarding world would suffer the same fate." Said Lily.

"That's horrible hun, is there any way to counter the spell?" Asked James.

"No, sadly I've looked everywhere I could possibly think of and basically it's a wizarding/fey spell, and only a combination of both types of magic could undo it, and even then you need the original wording of the spell. The only other way for the curse to be lifted is for the wizarding world to stand up and save themselves from a dark lord, just once. No one hero, they themselves stand up and fight for freedom. If the wizarding world can do that without a savior then it can know lasting peace." Said Lily.

"You don't actually believe that do you?" Said Dumbledore.

"You tell me, you were the last such savior, did you know the hero before you? Look around you, Professor. Look at this school; look at the spells that are being taught, hell, look at the fashions. Nothing really changes very much in wizarding world. The wizarding world is centuries behind the rest of the planet; didn't you think there was a reason for that? I mean I have to give le Fey credit this has got to be the most original and diabolical curse ever devised, and is so diabolical that no one knows they are all cursed, so no one works to break it." Said Lily. "Personally, I think that it would be better for the wizarding world to not have it's little savior this time around, it time for them to stand up and fight and defend themselves, it will lead the true lasting peace that everyone craves." Lily stated

"And if you're wrong, they will all be enslaved to evil, thousands, tens of thousands, millions could die if you are wrong are you willing to take that chance?" Asked Dumbledore.

"If it means saving my son. YES. Because I know I'm not wrong, I've done the research; I've found the diary of Morgana le Fey's handmaiden. She wrote down what happened, she told of her mistress spending a year developing the curse, unfortunately the handmaiden Olive Horner was a squib, she had no magical training and didn't understand even a quarter of what her mistress was doing. She only understood the curse after it was cast and le Fey explained what she had done."

"We can't risk the entire wizarding world on the ramblings of some woman from over thousand years ago, even if the diary is authentic, she could have been mentally addled for all we know, we can't risk the lives of the world on such conjecture. We must protect and train the savior to defeat Voldemort, that's the only way to peace. You must heed me on this." Said Dumbledore with more passion and seriousness than any of them had ever heard from him.

"Professor, I'm sorry but I agree with Lily. I'm not willing to risk my son for some temporary fix. Wizarding history is littered with too many Dark Lords, and as you know Lily is the brightest witch of the age. She would not have said any of this without grounding it solidly in fact. We are going under Fidelius and we getting the wards cleansed, we will train our son to defend himself, but for the rest of it, he will be an ordinary child with an ordinary child's worries, the wizarding world will have to save itself, or hope the Longbottoms boy is the savior." Said James, and he leaned in and kissed his wife and stroked his son's hair.

"No, James, the wizarding world will have to save itself because we are doing the same as you. Neville will have a normal childhood and life unless he decides different when he is older." Said Alice with that, she rose with Neville in her arms and headed to the fireplace, Frank, James and Lily with Harry in her arms followed suit.

"Wait!! Lily if what you say is true, why didn't you mention it before." Demanded Dumbledore.

"Well, I was going to have it published next month, in Charms monthly, actually I just finished the research, it's been a personal project of mine since I graduated from Hogwarts and noticed the trend of Muggleborns in relation to the wizarding world." Lily gave Harry to James and took out her wand. She muttered something under her breath and pointed her wand at Dumbledore's desk. A stack of parchment appeared. "That is the article I'm sending off at the end of the week to make the deadline for Charms monthly next month read it through tell me what you think." Said Lily as she took Harry back from James. Alice Longbottom disappeared through the floo first with Neville followed by Frank, and then Lily with Harry and finally James went through last.

Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk flabbergasted; he couldn't believe they could be so selfish. It's an honor to have your child fight and possibly die for the wizarding world, couldn't' they see that. He sighed and did a quick flip through of the copy of Lily's article for Charms monthly. His mind was set though and little could change it even with the mountain of evidence that Lily had provided. He resolved to never have it be published, and it wouldn't be, he was after the leader of the light, and for most things in the wizarding world it meant that he had final say. He didn't like to use his power like that most the time; sometimes he was just so inflexible. Whether it was the curse or just an old man being set in his ways, it may never be known, but Albus Dumbledore didn't like change, and he always tended to lean a little to conservative side, even if his views were essentially liberal. For most things, one could reason with Albus Dumbledore and though he tended to stick to his views fiercely given time he would change, except when it came to the defense of the wizarding world for that he was ruthless, hence his call for Severus Snape.

Severus Snape was a former student of Hogwarts and was essentially a good kid, however, James Potter and his friends who called themselves the Marauders, took a particular dislike to the greasy haired boy, and would prank him mercilessly, while they were in school, this lead to Snape becoming a very bitter young man. Lily Evans was his one true friend though; as she would always call the Marauders to task for anything they did to Snape. Lily's general love learning made her the only student at Hogwarts that Snape thought was as intelligent as himself, and her grades in Potions had her and Snape in a constant battle for the top spot, though Charms was her favorite subject.

In sixth year, an older student one Lucius Malfoy, recruited Severus for the Death eaters with promises of revenge on the Marauders, and opportunities to have access to the rarest of potion ingredients. Two things that Severus Snape could not refuse, revenge and a chance to create and develop rare and powerful potions, after accepting the mark Snape at first didn't see the error of his ways. The Dark Lord essentially used him as a potion master, and even arranged a scholarship to university for him. The summer after sixth year he discovered his mistake when he was invited on his first raid with other death eaters, and one of the potions he had made was used to immobilize a young woman while heightening her pain receptors. He was then ordered to rape and torture the young woman, at first he refused, but then he was told either do it to her or have it done to himself. Being Slytherin he did what he had to do to survive, never in his life had he felt as revolted and vile. He tortured the woman for three hours, before being forced to rape her, and the other death eaters took their turns, he felt completely disgusted with himself, and as bad as he felt it got worse when they brought the woman's nine year old daughter and repeated the process with her. Severus was now completely revolted by himself. When he finally arrived home, he got drunk, and fell asleep. He dreamed of his crimes, the look in the woman's eyes and he tortured her then took her and then the way she looked at him as the other death eaters took their turn, and the horror in her eyes as she watched him do it to her little girl. Severus hated himself, he wanted to die for his crimes, especially when he saw the Dark Lord now bored with the whole affair killed the daughter slowly, stripping layer after layer of skin off the child until she was dead with child floating helplessly in front of her horrified mother. The Dark Lord let the woman live but put a charm on her that prevented her from telling anyone what happened and even the attempted to tell would force her to re-live the night again in it's entirety, and she would feel it was happening all over again. He thought it funny to let her live with such horrible memories.

Three days. Three days was how long Severus could live with himself after that night. He would have killed himself but it wasn't in his nature to do such a thing, so he went to Dumbledore and confessed everything. He fully expected Dumbledore to call the Ministry and have arrested as a death eater for his crimes. Dumbledore even went into his mind and saw the entire night, when he emerged from Severus' mind he promptly threw up his lemon drops, with a quick scurgify he cleaned up the mess and looked at Severus, the man before was broken. Dumbledore thought that at his core Severus Snape was a good man or he wouldn't have come to him at all. He offered him a chance at redemption by spying for the light, Severus thought about for another day, but couldn't sleep his guilt would allow him no peace, so he accepted and was now working for the light. Dumbledore spent the rest of the summer training Snape in the mind arts and by fall he was ready for his position of as spy, luckily Voldemort hadn't call on him since the night of the attack. A week before the new semester, word reached Voldemort that Snape was staying at Hogwarts quite a bit. When called Snape explained that he was just doing some research on potion ingredients and Hogwarts had the best library. Voldemort thought that if Dumbledore would let Snape use the library even in summer then maybe when Snape had his potion masters, he could be teach at the school and spy on Dumbledore for him. So Snape became a double agent, whose true loyalty was to the light. Being a brilliant as he was able to get his Master's a year after graduating Hogwarts, and so started teaching the year after that.

"Severus, I want you to leak some information to the dark lord." Said Dumbledore.

"What?"

"A savior has been born that will have the power to destroy the Dark Lord. I want you to inform of a prophecy about this savior."

"Why on earth would you want him to know that? This is what we've all been waiting for, praying for, and you just want to tell him about? Are you mad?"

"No, my friend, I am not mad. There is a prophecy of a savior and the child has been born, but I don't know which child it its, and further the child's parents don't want the child to follow the plan that fate has laid out for him."

"Why wouldn't the parents want their child to take on the Dark Lord if its prophesized that the child would destroy the Dark Lord?" asked Severus.

"Because it's not foretold that the child would win, only that the child would the power to defeat the Dark Lord. The final battle could go either way." Said Albus.

"I can understand why the parents don't want to risk their child then, I don't think I would either." Said Snape in all serious.

"How could you not? If it was your child think of all the suffering your child could end, your child would be a hero." Said Dumbledore shocked at Severus' comment.

"What good a dead hero? I would rather my child live. If I had a child, I would want my child to live for it's own sake. To grow and have it's own dreams, not be responsible for the dreams of a world to damn lazy to defend itself." Said Severus.

"Well, be that as it may, I want you to tell the Dark Lord of the prophecy." Said Dumbledore.

"Why?"

"I have told both sets of possible parents about the prophecy and I have told them that a spy for the Dark Lord overheard part of the prophecy. The truth is no one heard the prophecy but me. I had hoped that with just me knowing the prophecy and the parents I could train the child prepare it for the final battle, and Voldemort wouldn't know until it was too late. However the parents' refusal to prepare the child for any beyond self defense has altered my plan. I will have you leak the part of the prophecy the Voldemort and he will come after the child. In the ensuing battle Voldemort will mark one of the children, the child that is marked will be the chosen one. Then I will enact the Thrall Laws, and get custody of the child, I will have it raised to be willing to give it's life to save our world." Said Dumbledore with a dangerous gleam to his eyes.

"That's monstrous. How could you?" Said Severus in shock. "Do you have any idea what the Dark Lord would do to this child and his family, he'll do far more than mark them. He'll kill the entire family!"

"No, my boy, he won't. We'll be there the order and myself. We'll watch out for both families and when the Dark Lord strikes we'll come in and save them. Hopefully, in the ensuing battle, the child will be marked and in a week or so I will have enacted the Thrall Laws, and the child will be mine. I've got several candidates for raising that will ensure that the child is prepared to do whatever it takes to save our world even if it's a suicide mission." Dumbledore stated.

"This is wrong, Albus. Look it's one thing for us to choose to fight and possibly die for this war, and this cause. WE CHOOSE, but what you are suggesting is that this poor child will have no choice. What you are proposing is no better than the Dark Lord's way. Worse, because no one would expect it of you. I won't do it. I can't. It's wrong, damn it, we are the light side!" Said Severus, losing all sense of stoic ness.

"You are wrong, Severus. You will do this. This is war, all the rules go out the window. We have to win the stakes are too high. I won't let the families or you stop my plans. PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" yelled Dumbledore. Snape froze as he was reaching for his wand. "I am sorry, Severus. But this must be done. OBLIVIATE! Listen you overheard a conversation in the Hogshead, a prophecy was made about a child being born as the seventh month dies, a child with the power to defeat the Dark Lord, born to those who defied three times… that is all you heard of the prophecy, and then you ran. You will leave here, and go tell this partial prophecy to the dark lord. Finite incantatem. Go now!" Said Dumbledore. A dazed Severus obeyed. He was outside Riddle Manor when he came to his senses. He just knew that right then he had to tell the dark lord about a prophecy he overheard in the Hogshead.

Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk. His heart was heavy; he did what he thought he had to do to end the war. Lily idea of a curse on the whole of the wizarding world was just outrageous. Someone would have noticed by now. He hated having to do things this way, but war was war and sacrifices have to made.

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Well, I hope you all like it. Please review. And for those of you wondering when will she update her other stories. I'm working on Obsession, Madness and Love now, and when it's done I'll work on Darien and Harry Potter. I know it's been like a year for those two stories but hey I have a life, and my muse led me elsewhere. Obsession is taking awhile because I think I'm trying to get too much done in the one chapter, Harry and Puff, if you've read Obsession you know how Puff, will NOT meet in Chapter 9 but will meet in Chapter 10. I SWEAR!! I'll even throw in some a little Yaoi action in Chapter 10, but just a little. ;o) Also look for the poll at the end of Obsession 9, I'm really stuck on find mate for a particular character I could use your input. So look Obsession, Madness and Love's update.

If you like this story review when it gets to 20 reviews I'll update it.

Ciao.

Catwriter.


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